The Pirates got out of that 10-game losing streak and now have won three of their last six. They now sit eight games under .500 which is a tragedy because they were headed towards the playoff run in September. Now it's over and the question is how long will Paul Skenes pitch? Will they shut him down? He is tiring a bit so we'll see but enjoy him while he's out there. After getting swept by the Royals in Cincinnati they took two out of three at Toronto to make them three games under .500. Nick Lodolo allowed eight runs in his last start and lasted 2.1 innings in a 13-1 Royals win. Pirates win.

Last start was a disaster for Nick Lodolo vs. the Royals, but that performance has helped push this down to 15.5. Lodolo's outs line had consistently been 17.5 and he had eclipsed the current line in five straight starts, before last time out. Pittsburgh has been much better vs. lefties in the 2nd half of the season but it's a small-ish sample size and I'm not sure I'm fully a believer in those numbers. Cincinnati's starting pitching has struggled after Hunter Greene went to the IL, and in the last six days they've got 5+ innings just one time from a starter. The bullpen has been used a ton, so he should get a shot at the 6th if he is pitching well.

Paul Skenes has looked somewhat mortal of late and might have his workload reduced -- which I will address in Thursday's premium newsletter; sign up if you haven't -- but this feels a good 25 cents cheap. The Reds are nothing special and had to travel late Wednesday from Toronto, and nothing good can happen to them in that one at least regarding Thursday. Cincy starter Nick Lodolo has been crushed in two of his past four. Per usual, this will come down to if the Bucs can score at all.